Books and Other Rants!

Thursday, 8 March 2018

Imagine waking up to the sound of incessant beeping and, in
the distance, a horrible tune being whistled. You don’t know who you are and
everywhere you look you see nothing but shadows. Worse yet, when you look in
the mirror, you don’t see a reflection. This is the opening of Dexter
Morgenstern’s creepily addictive book, Eternal Victim. It starts with an
edge-of-your-seat style of writing that carries throughout the entire book
until a satisfying ending that, for me, was unpredictable.

Eternal
Victim is a unique story for the reason that the reader doesn’t find out who
the main character is until the very end. She is only known as the Witness and
although I had my suspicions throughout about her true identity, I was not
entirely sure until the end and I saw how all of the various characters were
tied together and in what way. Most of the characters are ghosts (or maybe all
of them are!) which also made this a strangely interesting read. It’s difficult
to say much about the main character, the narrator, because the reader doesn’t
really learn a lot about her other than that she has a lot of perseverance for
not giving up after repeatedly witnessing horrific deaths over and over. For
reasons unknown to her, she must witness these deaths at the hands of sadistic
serial killers through time and in different places in the world. She’s also
pursued by decaying ghosts, the victims of the killers, called preta, who want
to pull her down into their murky depths. She knows she must solve a puzzle
each time in order to escape that particular horror but to what end, she doesn’t
know. Each time, escaping becomes harder and harder.

It
would have been quite easy for this book to become tedious and unenjoyable but
in this case, the pace was fast and the book was kept short so that there was
no need for the reader to become bored and give up on the twisting story. It’s
eerie in a way that a good horror story should be and I enjoyed every page.

I read
this in digital format and other than a few minor editing errors, it was
presented well. Normally, I wouldn’t have liked this type of cover but in this
case it worked well.

Wednesday, 21 February 2018

Megan, the Pet Whisperer is the latest installment in the
Megan’s World series written by Pamela Foland. I haven’t read any of the
previous two books but I’m always on the lookout for interesting reads that
will help pave the way for developing a love of reading in youngsters, so I
decided to try this book out. Written for children from grades 4-6, this is a
nice little book that is the perfect length for children moving on to chapter
books. At only one hundred and twenty pages, it has a good interest level and
chapter length to ensure that a child doesn’t become frustrated and they will
have a sense of success and completion upon finishing the entire book.

The
story is about Megan, a little girl with a keen love of animals and a desire to
nurse them back to health. In previous books, she rescued and is currently
raising four kittens and this story continues here, with the “munchkins”
needing more of Megan’s time as she tries to start a pet sitting business. She
also starts looking after a monkey in the vet’s office and must try to manage
all of these things while still doing the things that a young lady wants to do.
It’s these sorts of struggles that make Megan a believable and realistic
character. They aren’t life and death decisions but at Megan’s age, it
certainly seems so to her. She is also discovering which direction she may want
to take in her future, career wise. She has a definite knack for calming down
upset pets and her quiet and gentle demeanor seems to work not only on the animals
but also on their owners. I loved the character of Megan and her positive
attitude sets a good example for those reading the story. It was also nice to
read a story where the adults surrounding Megan were supportive of her goals.

This is
a book that I would feel very comfortable giving to a ten-year-old to read and
know that not only will they learn from the level of reading but from the story
itself. I would recommend Megan, the Pet Whisperer to any blooming young
reader.

I read
this in digital format on my ereader and it translated perfectly. The cover
portrays the story well and would draw the attention of the intended age group.

The first thing that made me want to take a look at this
book was the rather creepy cover. It definitely exudes and aura of horror which
is exactly what I was in the mood to read. Bruja is the Spanish word for witch
and Maggi is a battlewitch nearing the end of her life. Before she passes on,
she wants to make sure her beloved son is as safe as possible now and in the
future. To ensure his safety, she will need to kill the entities who have been
chasing her since before the collapse of mankind which has turned America into
a land of desecration and where everyone has to fight for their survival. The
story alternates between the present-day apocalypse and Maggi’s past life
before she realized exactly who or what she was. Both story lines are equally entertaining,
and the author uses this style of story telling to not only introduce
characters from Maggi’s past but also to develop the main character from a
young street hood to a formidable battlewitch. Often, when an author alternates
storylines, one will be really good and the other will be a bit “blah”. In The
Bruja, however, it really works and both stories are really well written.

I found
the character of Maggi to be a strong and realistic woman who has to adapt to
the changing times without losing her humanity. She struggles with it, but I
found her to be much more human than she sees herself to be. I actually liked
her and I’m not usually a fan of this type of character. The author has given
her a softness that she tries to hide in a world where weakness means death.
The other characters are interesting but not particularly developed and,
honestly, they don’t need to be in this particular book. I would have liked to
have seen more of a couple of them but I hope that will be the case in future
books in the series. Maggi’s foster daughter, Mayy, is an interesting
individual who, as I found out by the end of the story, will play a huge part
in the second book of the series so I hope to see her become a lot more
developed. The settings in the book, both past and present, are well detailed
and the world of war and destruction in the future is created uniquely in a
time when apocalypse books are a dime a dozen.

I
really didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did and I think it was due
in great part to my enjoyment of the character of Maggi. It is definitely a
great read for anyone who enjoys a bit of magic and a lot of the apocalypse.

Monday, 12 February 2018

The title of this book says it all and, as the authors write
at the beginning of the book in a section titled “A Special Message”, it
shouldn’t be taken completely seriously. In fact, if you’re looking for a tour
guide of New York City that tells of all the places that a tourist should visit
then this is not the book for you. Also, if you are someone who is going to
clutch your pearls at the thought of one-night stands and hook-ups then you
should just pass right over this little gem. I am not someone interested in
these things or even in drinking copious amounts of alcohol but when I saw the
title of the book I had to read it and found it more humorous than anything
else. I’m also sure that if this is your type of lifestyle then you will find
this book very useful.

The two
ladies who researched and wrote The Bitches Guide to New York City have within
these pages provided a look at the best places to drink, eat, find men and
shop. They live in the city so they know all of the secret places to go and they
provide throughout the book little tips that an outsider may not be aware of.
For example, if an empty subway car comes along, make sure to check and see if
a homeless person has taken up residence in it and avoid it if possible if this
has happened. I would have never thought of this as being something possible.
They also mention a nifty little secret door in a phonebooth that is in a
restaurant that leads to a speakeasy-like establishment with a strictly
enforced no kissing policy. It’s these sorts of little nuggets that make this
not only an interesting little guide book but also an amusing look into the
behind the scenes night life that most tourists will never see.

At only
ninety-four pages, this is a quick and amusing read. As for being a guide book,
it seems like a great one for party girls/guys who care more about their shoes
(yes, they mention the famous Louboutin shoe store) than about world issues but
that’s what makes this fun to read. I’m probably never going to New York City
but I loved reading about these two ladies’ adventures while researching for
this book. In fact, maybe they should write a book about just that subject.

I read
this in digital form and it worked well. I like the party vibe of the cover
which matches the subject material perfectly.

Tuesday, 6 February 2018

These days it seems like getting kids to read anything that
doesn’t involve a screen and various silly emoticons is all but impossible.
Even though the sale of young adult books is at an all time high, over fifty
percent of those sales are not to young adults, rather it’s to those of us who
enjoy the genre. In this short but very informative book, Kaye Newton explores
a variety of ways to entice your child to read something other than a text
message. If you’re a parent or even an educator who wants to encourage a love
of reading, then this is the book that is perfect to have on hand. Ms. Newton
has a wonderful style of writing that flows along easily and manages to provide
an incredible amount of information without crossing over to the generally
boring expert babble. She provides a very honest and realistic view of reasons
why your child isn’t reading and how to get them to cross over into the land of
book lovers. In this book, Ms. Newton also devotes a chapter to helping
children with learning disabilities discover books that are age appropriate yet
ones that they can still comfortably read at their level. Throughout, numerous
websites are provided that will give still more information about how to assess
your child’s reading level and also give ideas of books that will match that
reading level.

There
are many things I enjoyed about Ms. Newton’s book but the biggest one is the
way she peppers her own experiences with her children throughout the book. She
doesn’t profess to be perfect and readily admits that each of her children have
different levels of a love for reading. She explains how she gets them to read
a little more (bribery with a little extra screen time is a good beginner
strategy) and she also gives ideas of what they like to read. It makes her
seem, to me, more believable in her ideas regarding this subject and not
somebody who has no experience in the matter. I also loved the numerous book
suggestions throughout and I will be sure to explore them in the future.

This is
a book that every parent should check out as I’m sure they’ll find it very
useful. I read this in digital format and it translated well. The cover is not
particularly eye-catching and it may be something to think about tweaking in
the future.

Friday, 26 January 2018

I was
really looking forward to reading Messages from Beyond the Veil because I like
to read about spirituality and spirit messages that supposedly provide
information about what God is and the concept of Heaven. This book sounded like
something I would enjoy. However, it is not easy to read and this is not
because of the content but because of the style of writing. I can’t quite put
my finger on why I found the flow of the text to be a bit stilted but, for me,
it made sticking with the book a bit difficult. The information is quite
in-depth and spiritual but the style of writing made finishing the book that
much harder. This isn’t to say that I didn’t find Messages from Beyond the Veil
interesting because if you enjoy this sort of book then it has a lot of
interesting concepts and thoughts.

The
idea behind this book is that a group of men and women who, in the 1930s, met
regularly to discuss spirituality, one day discovered that they were being
contacted by entities known as Messengers who over the next few years told them
about what happens after death, what our lives are really meant to be, who or
what God is, and many other ideas. Throughout the book, actual writings from
the individuals in the group, as told to them by the Messengers, appear in italics.
Explanations from the authors of this book are interspersed in between these
messages. There are a lot of interesting concepts, such as one that says life
on Earth is merely an illusion and what is beyond life is our real existence.
Also, evil is not a result of the devil but comes from poor life choices. There
is a lot of emphasis put on free will and our being in control of our own fate.
A couple of sections that I really enjoyed were the role of Jesus and another
that talked about various things in our everyday life and how best we should
live in order to achieve the highest enlightenment we can from life on Earth.
The author also added, in a chapter about death, a beautiful sermon regarding
the end of life that was said for King Edward VII at his funeral.

This is
a great book for those who enjoy exploring spirituality and aren’t strictly
bible followers, whom it may offend. It is a bit difficult to read but worth
the effort.

I read
the book on my ereader and it formatted well. The cover had a mysterious feel
which fit the content of the book perfectly.

Friday, 19 January 2018

When I look for a children’s book that would interest my
nieces and nephew, I look for three things that I feel are important for all
children’s books to have. Hombo the Tortoise: Going to School with Loud Animals
has all of these three things as well as some other factors that make it
exactly the type of book that a little one would enjoy.

First,
there has to be pictures of good quality. Hombo the Tortoise is full of lovely,
cartoon-like pictures that are bright and colourful which will help hold a
child’s attention. As well, because they have a cartoon-like quality and
resemble something that a child may see on their favourite television show, the
pictures help the child comprehend the story a little easier because they are
used to this type of illustration.

Second,
the story itself must be on a child’s level. Hombo the Tortoise is about a
group of small animals who try to build a school because they find the larger
animals too noisy in the current school. There are lessons for the child to
learn in the story about feelings getting hurt and helping each other which
made the book a great learning tool for my six year old niece. The characters
are a lot of fun and it would be nice to see all of them used in other books so
as to keep the series going. Although some of the vocabulary may be a bit
advanced, older children will be able to read the book with help or even on
their own.

Finally,
the writing style has to be one that flows well. Anybody who has read a book to
a child knows that children love there to be a rhythm as you read. Hombo has a
great rhythm with a story that allows you to emphasize the dialogue and actions
of all of the characters.

Hombo
the Tortoise is really a fun little book and both of my nieces and my nephew
thoroughly enjoyed my reading of it. In fact, it has been read a few times
since I bought it and each time was as enjoyable as the previous one. Usually,
I say that a children’s book is better read in print format but in this case,
it downloaded really well onto my tablet and the pictures are as bright and
colourful as they would be in print. The cover is as delightful as the pictures
inside the book. This is a great book for kids!